This invention relates generally to devices for preventing damage to telecommunication cables and more particularly to a control rod for preventing a bundle of cables from being bent beyond a predetermined minimum radius.
Telecommunication cables can be easily damaged by overbending. This is particularly true of fiber optic cables. A damaged cable can result in an interruption of service for as long as it takes to locate the point of the damage and to make repairs. What is needed is a simple means for preventing a bundle of cables from being overbent.
In accordance with the present invention, a control rod is provided which is adapted to be bundled with a plurality of telecommunication cables to prevent the cables from being bent to less than a predetermined radius. The control rod is flexible and comprises a plurality of beads arranged in a linear series. Preferably the beads are elongated members connected together end-to-end by integral webs of material. The beads and intervening webs are constructed so as to prevent the control rod from being bent to less than a predetermined radius which is preferably on the order of about 25 mm.
The control rod may consist of one control rod section or two or more rod sections connected end-to-end, depending upon the length of the cables. Control rod sections are connected end-to-end by a socket member on an end of the one of the rod sections receiving a male member on an end of another rod section. The male member may include a ball rotatably received in a recess of the socket member. In a preferred embodiment of the invention as hereinafter described, the socket member has a slot along one side of the recess, and the slot has an enlargement permitting entry of the ball into the recess. The male member may have a head on one side of the ball which is rotatably received in the enlargement.
Preferably each rod section has a socket member on one end and a male member on the other end so that any number of control rod sections may be connected together.
One object of this invention is to provide a control rod adapted to be bundled with telecommunication cables to prevent the cables from being overbent, having the foregoing features and capabilities.
Another object is to provide a control rod which is composed of a relatively few simple parts, is rugged and durable in use, and can be inexpensively manufactured and easily installed.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent as the following description proceeds, especially when considered with the accompanying drawings.